


He Loved Her So

by JML726



Category: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera & Related Fandoms, Love Never Dies - Lloyd Webber, Phantom of the Opera - Lloyd Webber, Wicked - Schwartz/Holzman
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Imprisonment, Love Confessions, Love Triangles, Requited Love, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-06
Updated: 2015-11-06
Packaged: 2018-04-30 07:40:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5155712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JML726/pseuds/JML726
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jenny O'Hara is a recent college graduate, who gets her dream job as Production Stage Manager of Wicked, but when she's taken by the infamous Phantom of the Opera, will her life ever be the same again? Takes place about 2 years ago in NYC/Coney Island. First fanfic I've ever written! I'm a developing writer, so reviews are greatly appreciated! This is Erik/OC! Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Phantom, Love Never Dies, or Wicked. The ideas are entirely my own and I've previously posted this story on FF.net, but I thought I'd post it here too!

Jenny O’Hara was the typical college graduate, you know, 21, going on 22, tall, pretty, very tired, and happy to have graduated, except she was sort of special in her own right. She had graduated 2nd in her class from Carnegie Mellon University, one of the top theatre schools in the country. She graduated Maxima Cum Laude in Stage Management. Jenny had studied and interned in the West End, Broadway, and even did a semester in Paris. She was unique in that she was one of the best stage managers of her generation; she was on top of everything, always prepared, always one step ahead of the director, and had the most important thing you want in a stage manager; passionate about what she did. 

But like any other person, she had a past. When Jenny was in 6th grade she tripped and dislocated her elbow. It should have been a simple fix, but the doctor messed up and didn’t tell her or her mother. Jenny went on to have 6 more surgeries and ended up suing the first doctor for malpractice. Although she won her case and got a nice sum of money, she could never forgive the doctor for what he had done; he had taken away her innocence and her ability to trust someone. No sum of money could ever replace what she lost over the course of the 5 years she had had her surgeries. After all of the surgeries, Jenny developed many gnarly scars all over her right arm as expected and she still couldn’t mover her arm fully. The scars healed all red and bumpy, but Jenny showed them off proudly because they told her story and showed how tough and resilient she was.

Jenny had already gotten tons of job offers from all over, West End, Paris, California, and Broadway. The offer she got that she couldn’t refuse was Production Stage Manager of Wicked on Broadway. Wicked will be celebrating their 10 year anniversary at the end of July and Jenny could hardly wait. Their current Production Stage Manager decided to retire after almost 40 years working on Broadway and boy was he ready; he had been slacking off completely; he was just ready to leave the show and never come back. Jenny planned to announce to her family her job decision at her graduation party the next day.  
The next day was the day of the party and Jenny was in the bathroom curling her hair, when all of a sudden she heard a banging on the door “JENNY!! Come on, hurry up already you’ve been in there for an hour! I have to take a shower!” It was Kieran, her younger brother, he’d be turning 20 in the fall and he was the laziest person Jenny had ever met in her entire life.

“It’s my party I have to look good! Besides you should have showered this morning when you had the chance! People are going to be here soon!” Jenny shouted back.

Kieran retorted “Ugh! Fine, I’ll just go use the pool shower outside, take your sweet ass time!” And as he finished his sentence, Jenny heard him trot down the stairs and outside.

“Finally some peace and quiet” Jenny said to herself as she turned up her favorite song, “Music of the Night” and sag along with it. Five minutes later Jenny finished curling the last piece of hair just in time to hear the doorbell ring. The first guests had arrived, it was her older cousin Kelly, who also had some news she said she was going to share today.

Jenny had always looked up to her older cousin and when she saw Kelly in her first amateur production, jenny knew she wanted to be involved in some way or another. Kelly gave Jenny a hug and said “Congratulations! I knew you could do it! Can’t wait to hear where you’re gonna start working!”  
“Oh you’ll find out soon enough and I’m sure you’re going to be quite jealous!” Jenny replied as they were walking to the backyard where jenny discovered a bunch of other guests had already arrived, like her two best friends Kevin and Allison.

Jenny hadn’t seen them since spring break and was so happy to see them now! Jenny ran over to Kevin and said “Congratulations almost Dr. Eccleston! I can’t believe you’re going to be a psychotherapist by the time you graduate next year! That’s insane! I’m so proud of my best friend! And you Allison!!! Congrats on visiting all seven continents! I can’t believe you have time to travel so much!”

Allison and Kevin both blushed and Allison said “Oh thanks, I try to find time and if I can’t find it I make it!”

Kevin just rolled his eyes at Allison being Allison and said to Jenny “Oh thanks! I can’t believe it either, everything is working out so well and I can’t wait for you to meet my new boyfriend. He’s going to come with us next week to Coney Island for your birthday.”

Jenny was happy that Kevin finally found someone he was happy with and said “Awesome, I can’t wait to meet him.”

The party went on and Jenny mingled among her guests, thanking people for their congratulations and answering questions about her plans for the future, but she hadn’t revealed where she’d be working until cake time. Jenny ordered a special cake to reveal to her family and friends that she would the next Production Stage Manager of Wicked. 

Jenny brought the cake out and it read “Congratulations on Graduating CMU! Soon you’ll be Defying Gravity at Wicked!” and as people read the cake, the party erupted into cheers of congratulations all over again.

Kelly saw the cake and had a puzzled look on her face when she said “Wait a minute…..you’re the new Production Stage Manager of Wicked?? I’m the new Elphaba! We’re going to be working together! This is going to be the greatest experience of my life! I can’t wait to start with u! When do you start? I start Monday”

Jenny immediately squealed in delight and said “Me too! I start Monday too!”

The party was a success and the next day Jenny moved into her new apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan along with her dog that she named Elphaba because Wicked has always been one of her favorite musicals, along with The Phantom of the Opera. Ever since middle school Jenny had been obsessed with Phantom, everything about it intrigued her; the story, the characters, and especially the Phantom, whose real name was Erik Destler. When Jenny was in middle school, she would pretend she was Christine and she would choose the Phantom over Raoul every time because she felt like she related so much to him; they both had deformities on their bodies, Jenny on her arm and Erik on his face. She had always wished the Phantom was real and that he would whisk her away and they would live happily ever after. Jenny thought that would happen once when she was studying at the Populaire in Paris. 

Enter Flashback

One day she had ventured into the parts of the opera house that were closed off to the public and she had found a trap door in one of the dressing rooms behind a mirror. Jenny looked around to make sure no one was coming and she stepped in and left it open a crack so she could get out when she came back.  
When she stepped into the dark hallway, candles flicked on by themselves and this creeped Jenny out a lot. Like a good stage manager, Jenny had her flashlight on her, so she pulled it out and walked a little faster deep down into the dark insides of the Populaire. Jenny walked down a winding staircase right to the bottom, where she met a strange, glassy lake with a little row boat on it. Although Jenny was hesitant to get in it, her curiosity overpowered her, so she hopes in and started rowing. He arm started to hurt but it wasn’t long until she saw hundreds of candelabras come out of the water and as soon as they hit the surface, they lit the cave up to reveal a lair with an organ as its centerpiece and a jewelry box with a monkey sitting on top of it, on top of the piano. Jenny though she saw someone out of the corner of her eye, so she didn’t want to get out of the boat for fear of getting caught. So she turned the row boat around and paddled out of there as fast as she could. When Jenny got back up to the surface world, she found the groundskeeper and told him about what she saw down there. What Jenny later found out was that Andrew Lloyd Webber had commissioned an exact replica of the Phantom’s lair underneath the Populaire, and they have an actor dress up as the Phantom and they take tourists down there at night. People apparently love the experience and it’s one of the number one tourist attractions in the area. 

Exit Flashback

Jenny spent the entire day leading up to her first day at work setting up her new apartment and playing with Elphie. Jenny went over her mental checklist of what she needed for her first day at work “pens/pencils, check. Spike tape, check…..” and so on. But Jenny would soon realize that this would become a week she would never forget.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Here’s a character list! Forgot to add it to Chapter 1, so better late than never I guess!  
> Erik Destler: (will also go by Mr. Y) btwn. 35 and 40  
> Jenny O’Hara: 21 going on 22  
> Kevin Eccleston: 22 – Jenny’s best friend  
> Allison Katic: 20 going on 21 – Jenny’s other best friend  
> Kelly Mauzey: 26 going on 27 – Jenny’s cousin who will be Elphaba  
> Kieran O’Hara: 19 going on 20 – Jenny’s brother  
> Seamus O’Hara: 17 – Jenny’s other brother  
> Jenny’s mother and father  
> Hadley Fraser: around 30 – Plays Fiyero in the production of Wicked  
> Meg Giry/Meg Grant: 26 – Swing in Wicked/turns out to work for Mr. Y  
> Mme. Giry/Mrs. Grant: 50ish – chorographer for Wicked/turns out to work for Mr. Y  
> A/N: I do not own Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, or Love Never Dies….they all belong to their respectful owners.

Today was the day Jenny start work at Wicked. She could hardly wait. Jenny wouldn’t start out as stage manager right away though; she would begin as assistant stage manager until the current Stage manager Bryce retired in four weeks. Jenny didn’t mind though, she was just happy that she was given the opportunity to work in such an amazing and inspiring show.

Since it was Sunday, they had a 3pm matinee which Jenny was happy about because she’d be home early and they may hold an afternoon rehearsal tomorrow since it was a dark day (no show for that day). It was almost 11 am and Jenny’s phone buzzed, it was a text from Kelly and it read “Are you as excited as I am right now? Meet me in a half an hour at the café across the street from the Gershwin for lunch.”

Jenny relied “Sounds great, see you then!” She grabbed everything she’d need for her first day and hopped on the crosstown but that would get her to 51st and 7th. The ride seemed shorter than normal as Jenny perused her script for the show and went over some important cues she would need to pay attention to during the show. Before she knew it, she was at the café and she and Kelly had a nice lunch together talking about how excited that they were both making their Broadway debuts together and how far they both came from putting on mini productions of Phantom, Anything Goes, King and I, and many more of their favorites. Before they knew it, it was call time and they headed across the street to one of the best days of their lives. 

Kelly and Jenny parted their separate ways once they got up the stairs; Kelly went to her dressing room and Jenny to the stage managers office where she met Bryce. Bryce thought his retirement had already started once Jenny got there. As soon as she walked in and put her stuff down, he pulled out his flask and started drinking. Jenny was going to say something, but she figured he would be leaving in a few weeks and she would need the experience with or without his help.

The show started and Kelly was amazing, the audience loved her. As Bryce sat there, barely making his queues on time, Jenny was watching his every move, nudging him every once and a while making sure he was conscious. Kelly’s rendition of “Defying Gravity” was flawless and the audience gave her a standing ovation at the end, which rarely happened at the end of an act. When the curtain closed, Jenny dashed to congratulate her cousin as she was brought down from the lift that she flies on during the song. Jenny followed Kelly to the dressing room as she was changed into her stunning Act II dress, which Kelly decided to call Stella. It was a tradition for all Elphabas to name their gigantic, beautiful dress.

It was time to start Act II and Jenny got everyone in their places, but when Jenny got back to her place, Bryce was gone and a mysterious man sat in his place. Jenny couldn’t see his face and she tried to say something to him, but something came up and Jenny was called to the other side of the stage for the rest of the show. When it got to the point where Elphaba is supposed to melt, the stage manager is supposed to lower the lift slowly so the actress doesn’t get hurt and fall. But, Jenny saw that the mysterious man was paying attention but he dropped the lift all at once. Kelly fell through the trap door but was unharmed; she just fell really hard on the mat that was below in case something like what just happened, happened. 

Jenny wanted to run across the stage and reprimand the man for what just happened, but she couldn’t make it across in time because of the actors who were taking their places for the final scene. Jenny stayed calm and knew she’d give it to him after the show. Kelly finished the show and was very well received by the audience, and once again, she got a standing ovation from them and one of the chorus members brought her a bouquet of beautiful flowers. After the show, Jenny ran across the stage to see what the hell was up with dropping Kelly, but the man was gone before she could say anything to him. All of a sudden, Jenny heard a blood curdling scream ring through the theatre and without processing what just happened, she ran to see what was wrong. 

Jenny ran center stage to meet one of the swing members, Meg Grant, who was standing petrified in place staring up at the ceiling. Jenny looked up and saw Bryce’s body dangling from a rope on one of the curtain rods. As soon as she saw his body, she called the cops. About 15 minutes later, Detectives Tennant and Piper arrived and after their investigation, they ruled it a suicide and his body was wheeled out the door for the last time. The director was in shock, but came over to Jenny and said “Well I thought you would have a few more weeks of training, but after today you have proved to be a force to be reckoned with. Congratulations, you are now the head stage manager of Wicked.”

Jenny was in shock, but was happy and said “Thank you very much, you won’t regret this decision.” And walked off stage to go home, but as she was walking towards the door, she thought someone was following her and did a double take, but no one was there. 

The week turned out to be very interesting for Jenny; she was adjusting well to her new position, but like her clumsy self, she almost got hurt a few times. The worst thing that happened to her was on Tuesday though; Jenny was making her normal rounds around the stage before the show, like checking trap doors to make sure they lowered properly and so on. But, the same trap door Kelly fell through was left open and Jenny didn’t realize this, so when she started walking to the other side of the stage to get her bottle of water, she stepped in the trap door and fell through. Jenny knew the mat wasn’t there and as she fell, she knew she’d be screwed as soon as she hit the ground. But she never hit the ground; instead, she fell into the strong arms of someone awaiting her falling body. Jenny looked up real fast as he set her down on the floor, but all she saw was the back of his body as he ran away from her. Jenny realized that it was the same man that had taken over for Bryce at Sunday’s performance. 

Everyone who saw Jenny fall came running over to the trap door to see if she was alright. Jenny said “Yeah I’m fine, the mat was here to break my fall.” Jenny was lying through her teeth, but she knew they couldn’t see down there because all of the lights were off under the stage. Jenny pulled her flashlight out of her back pocket and got to her feet and made her way back up to the stage. 

As soon as Jenny got back on stage, a producer came running up to her and said “Miss. O’Hara, I’m so sorry or everything that’s happened to you these past few days, first Bryce, then you tripping over a set piece that was carelessly left out, and now this. This is unacceptable, I’m so sorry this is terrible, and we rarely have anyone get hurt on set. To apologize, you don’t have to come in until next Tuesday. Don’t worry about a thing; I have it all under control. Your Assistant Stage Manager, Matt Smith, can take over for you while you’re gone. Enjoy you week off, you need it; you’ve been working your ass off for our production. I’ll see you next Tuesday.”

Jenny replied “Oh no it’s okay I’m fine, it’s no big deal, I can still work…”

Jenny was cut off by the producer “Oh no! I insist, take a break, as you know this is a very stressful job, you deserve it! Good bye! Have a good week!”

And just like that, Jenny was out the door and back on the crosstown bus back to her apartment. Her week was boring up until that Saturday, which was her 22nd birthday. Kevin, his new boyfriend Jeremy, and Allison were taking her to Coney Island for the day to celebrate. But, what Jenny didn’t realize was that it wasn’t only a birthday celebration, but that it was her last day as a free woman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the second chapter! Let me know what you though in reviews! I’m having a lot of fun writing this for all of you! Get ready for the next chapter; because Erik makes his first official debut and as always, it’s a crazy Erik way to be introduced.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy and please write reviews! Thanks for reading!  
> A/N: I do not own Phantom, Wicked, or Love Never Dies, all belong to their respected owners.

Kevin, Allison, and Jeremy arrived at Jenny’s apartment at about 10:30 on Saturday morning, the day of Jenny’s birthday. They all brought gifts, including Jeremy, whom she had never met before and off of her first impression, she already knew he was perfect for Kevin. Jenny didn’t get a chance to open her gifts just yet because they had to get down to Coney Island for their 12pm lunch reservation at Gargiulo's Restaurant. They hopped on the subway and were at the restaurant in no time.

The group had a wonderful lunch celebrating Jenny’s special day and even more fun at one of her favorite places in New York, Luna Park. It had always been her favorite place since she was little. Jenny was never much of a partier, even in college; she always preferred low key affairs and simple ways to have fun. As the day died down, they walked along the boardwalk looking out at the ocean, they were walking along having a great time talking about Jenny’s new job, until Kevin stopped dead in his tracks and said “Jenny…..look at that sign, what does it say, tell me I’m seeing what I’m seeing”

Jenny looked up and saw the mysterious red, gold, and black sign that read “Phantasma.” Jenny looked at Kevin and said “No, I see it too, it says Phantasma. That’s the same name as the Phantom’s side show in _Love Never Dies,_ this is too bizarre. First the replication of the lair at the Populaire in Paris and now Phantasma, this is just getting a little too strange.”

Kevin knew how much Jenny loved Phantom, so he suggested something she never would have done in a million years, “How about we go in, look the door is cracked open, the building looks like it’s abandoned, and no one has been here in years. What’s the harm in just taking a look around, it could turn out to be your best birthday yet.” Allison and Jeremy nodded their heads in agreement.

Jenny looked at the apprehensively and replied “Fine, we’ll go in, but we leave when I say so, it is my day after all.” Kevin pulled the door open and the smell of moth balls came flooding out as they stepped in to the late 19th century building. As they walked into the theatre, they lights were on, which was strange, but the group thought nothing of it as they explored the ornate freak show. For a side show, it had a beautiful theatre complete with red velvet seats and mahogany arm rests. Whoever designed the theatre spared no cost.

All of a sudden, Allison called out “Guys! Come up on stage, look what I’ve found.” Allison was holding up a beautiful black net-like necklace that had large sapphires in it surrounded by small black diamonds. Jenny couldn’t believe such a beautiful necklace was just thrown there so carelessly on the ground. Allison walked behind Jenny and put the necklace on her and said “Oh my God, Jenny this necklace is stunning; it looks like it was as if it was made for you or something. You should keep it, no one seems to care about it, if they did, why would they leave it just thrown here?”

Jenny took out a mirror from her bag, and saw her reflection; the necklace really did look good on her. Jenny looked at them and said “Fine, I guess I could keep it, there’s nothing wrong with that, this building is abandoned. No one will even notice it’s gone”

Kevin looked like he was thinking and then he said “Wow, I wonder what this place was like on the night the woman wore the necklace….” And in unison Jenny, Allison, and Jeremy agreed and let their imaginations run wild.

**Flashback to Christine singing “Love Never Dies”**

Christine stands center stage singing in front of an audience for the first time in ten years, and she reaches the end of the song “ _Love never dies, Once it is in you, Love may be fleeting, Love lives on, Love may be fleeting, Love lives on._ ” Christine receives a standing ovation at the end of the song and as she is taking her bows, she looks stage left to see Erik standing there watching her with a warm and loving gaze, but when she looks stage right, she discovers that Raoul has left. What she didn’t know was that Raoul was on the next ship back to France. Christine’s heart drops a little, but when she looks back at Erik, she knows her heart is with him. Christine exits the stage and goes straight to Erik where she is greeted by a kiss from her lover. She asked Erik where their son was, but he had no idea. They later found out from Madame Giry that Meg had taken Gustave down to the pier.

Erik and Christine arrive at the pier to find Meg leading Gustave to the end of it. Erik talks Meg into giving Gustave back to them, but when Meg draws a pistol from her pocket and points it at herself everyone is shocked. Erik tries to talk Meg out of suicide, but in the process, Christine is accidentally shot. As Christine lay dying, she tells Gustave some very important information, that Mr. Y (Erik) is actually his father. Gustave accepts this newly found out information and as Christine lay dying, Erik told her for one last time that he loved her. Christine replied “I have always loved you, take care of our son.” And those were her last words.

Later that night, there was a little old gypsy who walked into the theatre. Erik looked at her and said “We’re closed, you have to leave.”

But, the gypsy stayed there for a minute and then relied “Sir, please help me, I’m hungry and I have no money and nowhere else to go.”

Erik spat back “Well you can’t stay here; I have nothing to give you, can’t you see I’m grieving, I’ve lost the only woman that will ever love me!”

The gypsy became angry and replied “Not only one person will ever love you, you have to understand that!”

Erik was now in a rage and screamed back “I’M A HIDEOUS MONSTER NO ONE COULD EVER LOVE ME, NOT IN A THOUSAND YEARS WOULD ANYONE EVER LOVE ME FOR ME!”

The mysterious gypsy stoop there unfazed by Erik’s screaming one bit and she said in a calm tone “Fine then I curse you to live forever until someone can say they love you. The only way the curse can be broken is one must say they love you as they gaze upon you unmasked face and proceed to kiss you on the lips. You will be frozen at this age, and invincible along with whoever is in this building presently until someone breaks the curse. Maybe next time you’ll learn to put others before yourself.” And all of a sudden the lights went out and the gypsy was gone.

Erik soon found out that Meg and Madame Giry were in the building at the time of the curse, but Gustave was sitting outside staring up at the stars when this all went down, so he wasn’t included in the curse.

The worse part of the curse was that Erik watched his son grow up. Erik saw all of Gustave’s milestones; he became a successful composer, he started a family of his own, and worst of all he saw his own son die at the age of 75. Erik couldn’t handle the loss of his two loves anymore, and attempted suicide multiple times, but the curse prevented him from his eternal sleep. Eventually he locked himself away and started composing again. He frequently traveled back and forth to Europe, mostly to France, England, and Ireland.

Madame Giry became an acclaimed choreographer and Meg became a Broadway star who mostly got supporting roles, but she was happy with that. They certainly made the most out of living forever, while Erik spent most of it sulking that he would never find someone to love him for who he was.

**Exit flashback and go back to Phantasma with Jenny, Kevin, Allison, and Jeremy**

Jenny snapped out of her day dream and said “Well if it was anything like the ending of _Love Never Dies_ I'm sure it was pretty depressing, but if it wasn’t, I’m sure it was a magical evening.” All of a sudden, the group heard what sounded like footsteps making their way up stairs. Jenny made a mad dash for the door, followed by Jeremy, Kevin, and then Allison. But, what Jenny didn’t realize, was that her wallet had fallen out of her open purse as she started running towards the door.

They got outside and hailed a cab back to Jenny’s apartment. They reached their destination, and they all got out and took the elevator up to Jenny’s floor. As she looked into her purse, she saw that her wallet was gone. Kevin soon helped her realize that she must have dropped it at Phantasma when they were running for the door. They all offered to back with her, but Jenny said “Oh no! It’s fine, it’ll be quicker if I just go back myself. Thank you guys for a lovely day! I’ll talk to you guys tomorrow, nice meeting you Jeremy!”

Jenny went into the apartment real fast to grab her spare metro card and once again took the subway back to Coney Island and was there in no time. Jenny got off at the subway stop that was closest to Phantasma and went in the same way they had before. The lights were out his time, so Jenny pulled out the flashlight that she kept in her bag and started retracing her steps. Jenny got all the way down to the front of the stage and aimed the flashlight down; there she saw her turquoise Coach wallet sitting right in front of seat B5. As she was walking to get it, she thought she heard a noise, but ignored it; it was an old building that probably made weird noises all the time.

Jenny made it to her wallet and crouched down to pick it up and as she was about to get up, but felt a presence around her, and then all of a sudden she felt something slip around her neck. Before Jenny could reach up and feel what it was, it tightened and an old smelly rag held over her nose and mouth. Even before Jenny could make sense of what was going on, she was unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, I know it was a little longer than the others, but I had a lot I wanted to get in on this one. I apologize for the way the flash back was written, I’m not 100% happy with it and I know it could have been better, but I didn’t want to write out the entire end to LND, so I changed it around a little and tried to make some of it my own. I really hope you guys enjoyed it! Please review!! Next chapter is where we officially meet Erik, Meg, and Mme. Giry!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I do not own Phantom, Wicked, or Love Never Dies, all belong to their respected owners.

As Jenny regained consciousness, she found herself sitting on the cool concrete ground, with her hands tied behind her back around a metal pole. She felt groggy as she tried to absorb her surroundings; the room was dimly lit by a few candelabras and across the room, Jenny could see that there wasn’t much in the room, just an old piano and mountains, upon mountains of sheet music. Jenny tried to crane her neck to the left and then to the right, but as she attempted to move, something got tighter and tighter around her neck. She knew it was only a matter of time before her captor came back and she had to act fast of she wanted to get out. Jenny readjusted the position she was sitting in and as she did, she felt something in her back pocket; Jenny couldn’t believe her luck, it was the pocket knife her dad had given her when she moved out of the house and into her apartment. He was always giving her things like that in hopes that if she was ever in an emergency it would be there to help her out. Well this was an emergency and boy was Jenny glad she had it. Jenny was able to get one of her hands into her back pocket to fish the knife out. Once it was in her hands, she opened it up and started to slice the rope up and down until her hands became free; after her hands were free, she was able to get the rope off of her neck. After Jenny had gotten a closer look at the rope, she realized that it was no ordinary rope, but it was identical to the one Bryce had killed himself with. Jenny started to grow more and more suspicious that it could be the infamous deeds of the Opera Ghost, but she didn’t have much time to think because she heard footsteps coming towards the door.

Jenny silently ran over next to the door frame and waited until her kidnapper had come through the door; as soon as she had gotten the chance, Jenny plunged the knife into the lower right side of his stomach and pulled it out again, but oddly enough he didn’t double over in pain, instead, he seemed to get stronger. The mysterious man threw her to the ground in anger and roared “Silly girl, you think you can harm me? No one can harm the Phantom of the Opera!” As he turned to face her for the first time, Jenny saw a white mask covering the right side of his face; all of her suspicions were confirmed in that split second. Jenny was so shocked, that she fainted right there on the floor.

Once again, Jenny regains consciousness, but this time, she wakes up on a bed in a different room; it was a large bed, with blood red silk sheets and a black down comforter. The room was mostly empty except for a dresser, a few book shelves, one door, and no windows. Jenny managed to get herself out of the bed and over to the door even though she was still in a lot of pain from being thrown on the ground like worthless ragdoll. She jiggled the door knob, but it was locked. Jenny said to herself “Of course it’s locked, you’re being held captive; why would you even think for one second that it might be different.” She wanted to scream, but could barely make a noise, she was still in shock about what had just happened. Jenny dragged her feet back to her bed and sat down and went over Gaston Leroux’s novel, both musicals, and the movies that were based on the Phantoms story. Jenny remembered that Leroux had always believed that the Phantom existed, but she just assumed he was a crazy French novelist who was always on a hallucinogen as he wrote his tale. As Jenny tried to go over all of the details from the stories, she realized her week off was almost up and she would have to be back at work on Tuesday. She knew if she wasn’t there that people would begin to wonder where she was because she is such a huge part of the show and it couldn’t possibly go on without her.

As Jenny went on contemplating her future, she didn’t hear the small dainty footsteps approach the door, until she heard a key turning in a lock. The door opened, and finally Jenny saw a small, dainty, blonde haired girl walk through the door with a tray of food; as the girl got closer, Jenny realized it was Meg Grant, one of the swing members from _Wicked_. Jenny was so happy to see a familiar face and said to her “Oh thank God, finally a familiar face, you’re in the swing at _Wicked_ right? Well I have no idea where I am, or what’s going on, if you could just give me an inkling as to all of this, I would be so grateful!”

Meg went over to the bedside table, set the tray down, looked at Jenny and giggled. Before Jenny could say anything else, she was gone and the door was locked once again. After Jenny rattled the door knob for what seemed like the millionth time, she wandered over to the tray of food; on the tray there was some fruit, a small turkey sandwich, and a bottle of water, but Jenny was in no mood to eat, so she plopped down on her bed and started staring around the room. All of a sudden, something caught her eye; there were white sheet covering something fairly large. Jenny got up and pulled the sheets down to uncover five large bookcases filled with old pictures, sheet music, and books of all genres. As she perused the bookshelves, she found many old pictures of the same woman; they weren’t in color and the quality of the pictures wasn’t very good either, but Jenny knew who it was. The woman had all of the same features as the descriptions of Christine had in the novels and musicals; the gorgeous long, brown curly hair, the fair skin, and the pure innocence of woman embarking on her singing career. Jenny kept looking through more pictures of her, and she came across one of her wearing a familiar looking necklace. It was the same necklace Jenny found in the theatre and was wearing now. Jenny looked down and touched the necklace, and then looked back at the picture just to make sure it was the same one; it was with no doubt, the same exact necklace that Christine Daae was wearing in that picture.

Just as Jenny started looking through more pictures, she heard a key turn in the lock; Jenny whipped around to see a middle aged woman walk in. She sees the look of confusion on Jenny’s face and says “Good evening, I am Ms. Grant; I know you have a lot of questions, let me tell you all I am allowed to before you start asking them.” Ms. Grant walked over to Jenny’s bed and sat down. As she sat down, Jenny took a seat next to her and when she saw that she was walking with a cane, Jenny realized where she had seen Ms. Grant before; she was _Wicked’s_ acclaimed choreographer. It was strange though that she stayed, because once someone choreographed a show, they left. But no, Ms. Grant was there every show to watch over her daughter Meg and to make sure everything went perfect.

Ms. Grant sighed and said “Well I would like to start off by apologizing for my boss’ behavior; he’s not very good with other people, especially women.” Jenny listened to her as she fiddled with the necklace and Ms. Grant noticed this and asked “May I ask where you got that from my dear?”

Jenny wondered if she should tell her the truth, and thought that that would probably be best. Jenny looked at Ms. Grant and said “Well I was here earlier exploring the theatre today with my friends for my birthday and one of them found it on the floor and gave it to me. I loved how it looked on me, so I kept it. I’m sorry I know I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t resist, I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

Jenny stared at the ground and Ms. Grant said “Oh it’s alright, it looks better on you than it did on the person it was meant for anyways. Well, I suppose I should tell you the truth if you are to be His prisoner. Miss. O’Hara, my name is Madame Giry, I was born in the 1800’s in Paris, France and I have a daughter Meg Giry. We both worked in the Opera Populaire in Paris while I was liaison between the Opera Ghost and the mangers of the Populaire. We came here after Christine left Him and we have been here ever since. Well you know what happens after Christine comes back for Him, but what you probably don’t know is that after she died, a gypsy came and cursed Him to live forever  until he found someone to love him because like always, He was sulking about being forever alone. I hope this doesn’t come as too much of a shock, I mean I know from work that you are a huge _Phantom_ fan, so you won’t be too confused, right?”

And at that moment, Jenny sat there speechless, she tried to speak, but no words would come out. Finally Mme. Giry broke the silence and said “Miss. O’Hara I have been watching you, you are an intelligent girl, and I think you’ll do just fine as His prisoner. From what I’ve seen at work, you stand your ground and you don’t let anyone tell you what’s right and what’s wrong. He will respect you for that.” Mme. Giry got up to go, but as she was almost to the door Jenny stopped her.

“Madame Giry, how long have you been watching me? And why were you watching me if you don’t mind me asking, I mean no offense but it’s a little creepy.” Jenny just stared in disbelief as Mme. Giry turned and looked in her direction.

“I only follow His orders, I never question Him. I have been watching you ever since you observed in London. He made sure that after you came to Broadway and interned at _Wicked_ , that you would get the job offer of a lifetime. He sees something in you; you must be special in his eyes. I trust his judgment and you should too. I must be going; he will be in soon to talk to you. Oh, and you can keep the necklace. I will see you soon. Good night.” Mme. Giry closed the door behind her, and once again locked the door so Jenny couldn’t attempt an escape.

Jenny laid back on the bed and just stared at the cement ceiling as she contemplated the last few hours of her life. It wasn’t a dream, Jenny knew the signs of her dreams, and none of them were here. Jenny rolled over on to her side, and felt a lump in her pocket; it was her iPhone. She pulled it out of her pocket and checked the time, it was almost 2 am on July 27th; it had only been about five hours since she had been taken prisoner. Jenny was about to call Kevin or Allison, but she saw that there was no service, “Well that’s great” Jenny thought to herself. She got out of the bed and walked around and looked at some more of the books. As she was looking through the books, she realized that He would be coming in soon. She thought to herself “How should I act towards him? Should I be defensive and stand my ground, or should I be compliant and just agree with whatever he says? What should I call him, I mean I know his name is Erik, but should I call him Phantom, or Opera Ghost, or Mr. Y? Whatever you’re over thinking it, just breathe.” Jenny took her own advice and took a nice, deep, relaxing breath and decided that she would act calmly toward the Phantom, maybe if she proves not to be a threat she’ll be released. Jenny got back up and grabbed a book on magic and laid back down on the bed with the book and starts to drift off to sleep, but just as her eyes are about to close, the door bursts open and in walks the Phantom of the Opera.

Jenny quickly snaps out of her grogginess and sits up. She takes a look at him, and he seems to have calmed down a bit. Just as she is about to say something to him, he says “I am your worst nightmare, if you so much as disobey me, horrible thing will happen to you. You have already trespassed, so for that you will be m prisoner for the rest of your life.”

Jenny was so overwhelmed and tired that she started to cry; she couldn’t believe what he was saying, would she really be his prisoner for life? It was just too much for her to handle while she was over tired. Erik saw her tears and bellowed “Why do you cry? Your tears will do you no good!”

Jenny meekly said “I’ve just started my life and a new job, and now it’s over! I love my job, my family, and friends, and I’ll never get to see them again!” As Jenny was saying this, she was so confused; she never cried over something like this, she never cried at all come to think of it.

Erik seemed to look at her with pity for a moment and said softly “You are due to start work again starting tomorrow, if you behave for the next few days, I will let you go, but you must come back to me.”

Jenny looked at him through the tears in her eyes and said “How do you know I’ll come back?”

Erik seemed to have taken this as a challenge to his authority and said “I have eyes and ears everywhere – I will know your every move, every step you take. If you so much as take a step outside of the Gershwin without my permission I will fatally harm your family. I know where they live, work, attend school, I know what they look like; I know that your brother Seamus has a disease and he almost died when he was 7. I know EVERYTHING about you!”

Jenny was terrified by his revelations; they were all true, but how did he know? Jenny stopped crying, and took another deep, soothing breath and said calmly “I will be your prisoner, but if I stay with you, you must promise me that you won’t touch my family and if I disobey you, you hurt me, not them. They have nothing to do with this.” Jenny paused for a moment to see if she had forgotten anything, and then once again in calming tone said “Also, if I am to stay here for the rest of my life, you must let me go to my apartment and let me get my dog and some clothes for the next few weeks.” After stating her demands, Jenny was trembling. The girl felt empowered by being able to stand up to her captor, for many had not been so audacious as she and lived to tell the tale.

Jenny looked up to see Erik’s shocked face; he was confused and vulnerable, like a toddler lost in the mall. Stuttering as he spoke, the opera ghost said “You will find that your dog and most of your clothes are here, if I find I can trust you, I will allow you to go back to your apartment in a few days accompanied by Meg. I hope you find this room to your liking, as you will be here for the rest of your life. I will send your dog and belongings in with Madame Giry in a moment. Either I or Madame Giry will be accompanying you to work tomorrow. Good night Miss O’Hara.” And just like that he was gone.

Jenny went back to her bed and slowly sat down; she was still trembling. Once again that dreaded door opened and Mme. Giry walked in with Elphaba and the rest of her things. Elphie saw Jenny and jumped right into her lap; Jenny had never been so happy to see her dog in her entire life. Mme. Giry walked over and sat next to Jenny and said “No one has ever talked back to him and lived to see the light of day, he must see something special in you. Many have spoken back, but he silenced them immediately, but after what you said, he seemed captivated and vulnerable.”

“If he sees something special in me then why is he keeping me as his prisoner?” Jenny sighed and got up.

“He has been hurt twice before and He fears being hurt again; you know the stories, they are all true. Christine broke his heart twice and He fears He will never love or be loved again.” Mme. Giry said hesitantly.

For a minute Jenny felt sorry for him, be realizes that she is his prisoner, and why should she be sorry for him. He is insane! How could anyone ever love him? Mme. Giry excused herself and said “I will accompany you to work in the afternoon. If you need anything, come find me, He has instructed me to leave the door unlocked, he trusts you to not run away. Good night Miss. O’Hara.” Mme. Giry closed the door behind her, but did not lock it. After what just happened Jenny didn’t once think about escaping.

Jenny looked at her phone again and it was nearly 3:30 am; Jenny crawled into bed with Elphie and closed her eyes. After all, she had a long day ahead of her tomorrow night for her first day back at work. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep with Elphie next to her not knowing what was in store for her future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! I know it’s a little long, but there was so much stuff going on in this chapter I just wanted to get it all in! Let me know what you think in the reviews! I hope to publish the next chapter by the end of the week! Oh and PS – I made a small change to when Jenny starts work, I think in previous chapters I had said that she starts on Tuesday, but to help with the flow I changed it to Sunday. Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify, if some of you don’t get it, Erik was put under a curse and that’s why he’s here in the 21st century. Keep the reviews coming! Enjoy Chapter 5!  
> A/N: I do not own Phantom, Wicked, or Love Never Dies, all belong to their respected owners.

Jenny was awoken about six hours later by some very loud organ music; it was very similar to the organ music that Christine was woken up to after the Phantom brought her down to his labyrinth. Just then, the loud obnoxious music changed to a soft melody; as soon as it started Jenny realized it was “The Music of the Night” and since it was after all one of her favorite songs ever , she started to sing quietly to herself as she left her room. As she got closer to the music, Jenny heard Erik singing; it was possibly the most beautiful thing she had ever heard, he really did have the voice of an angel. Jenny stopped at the doorway of the room where Erik had his organ, piano, and the rest of his music stuff; not realizing she was still singing, Erik stopped playing, turned to face her and asked “Was that you singing?”

Jenny must have turned bright red, because she could feel her face get all hot as she said “Oh, pfft, nope. That wasn’t me, I can’t sing at all.” Jenny wasn’t sure, but as she spoke, she could have sworn she saw Erik smile softly.

Erik motioned for her to come closer, and Jenny obeyed not wanting to annoy her captor. Erik looked at her and said “Well if that was you singing, you have a lovely voice and your place is on stage not behind it.” Jenny blushed, but quickly realized that she was his “prisoner” and she shouldn’t be flattered by his compliments, no matter how much she might have wanted to. Erik continued speaking and said “You may explore my realm; the kitchen is the second door on the left if you are hungry. As you can see I have adapted to the 21st century quite well and I have kept up with the latest technology. Madame Giry will accompany you to work at 12 pm, you will need travel time. I have things to do; I’ll see you around, have a good first day back at work Miss O’Hara.” And just like that he was gone again. Jenny was surprised at how fast his mood changed, but brushed it off and found the kitchen.

Jenny was starving; it was almost lunchtime, so she found some chicken cutlets, fried them up, and made herself a nice sandwich. When Jenny finished eating, she looked in the pantry and found some dog food for Elphie. The poor puppy had been following her around all day with a scared look on her face. Her dog bowls were already in the kitchen and all Jenny had to do was fill them up. Elphie was happy and finished her kibble in no time. Jenny got up and explored the lair with Elphaba on her tail the whole time. Jenny was absolutely fascinated by the whole place; there was a gourmet kitchen, a gorgeous dining room, a living room with a huge flat screen TV, and of course Erik’s music room. You could tell that a lot of care was put into the construction of the lair.

Before Jenny knew it, it was 12 pm and time for work. Jenny grabbed what she needed and Madame Giry and Meg escorted her out a door into an old, dark, subway tunnel. Jenny was confused and said “Wait, why are we in an old subway tunnel? I thought we were going to the Gershwin.”

Mme. Giry explained “This tunnel leads straight into Manhattan and to every theatre; there is an old network of tunnels that aren’t used anymore, so Mr. Y had them paved over, and he uses them now to get around Manhattan.” As she spoke, she walked over to a black Mercedes and motioned for her and Meg to get in. Jenny wondered how he could afford one of the most expensive Mercedes on the market, but realized he has money to burn, so he could afford anything he wanted. After a short ride in the dark subway tunnel, they arrived at a door that said “Gershwin Theatre.” Mme. Giry got out and opened it, then motioned for the girls to come; Jenny was a little wary, but followed anyway.

They walked into a dark room, but when the lights turned on Jenny saw it was an old storage room for broken props and damage costumes. She had no idea that the room even existed. They went up the stairs that led out of the storage room and ended up backstage by her office. Jenny went down another flight of stairs to go say hello to her actors and see how they were doing.

As she made her rounds, she got a lot of “So happy your back!”, “We missed you!” and “It wasn’t the same without you!” The last person Jenny visited was Kelly, but boy did Jenny miss her! She hadn’t seen her cousin since last week and since she’d been kidnapped, she was the first family member she had seen. Jenny gave her a big hug and Kelly said “Thank God you’re back, your replacement was terrible! Wait, before I say anything else, where were you last night? You missed our birthday dinner!”

Jenny completely forgot about that, but quickly lied and said “Oh the subway got delayed down in the tunnel while I was on it, there was no service for me to call you, and by the time I got home I was completely exhausted and forgot to let you know I wasn’t going to be able to make it.” When he finished, Kelly seemed to believe it. She was relieved because Jenny knew she couldn’t tell her the truth even if she wanted to.

Kelly said “Oh alright, that’s fine, we can always make it up another time! By the way, did you get your dress and mask yet for the 10th anniversary ball?”

Once again the ball completely slipped her mind. _Wicked_ was having a masquerade ball at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Times Square to celebrate their 10 years on Broadway. The current cast and crew were going to be there, along with the original creative team, original cast, and some past cast favorites like Stephanie J. Block and Willemijn Verkaik. Jenny said “No not yet, I was thinking of maybe going shopping tomorrow on our dark day.”

Kelly responded “Awesome! I already got mine, I’ll show it to you later, I have to get ‘greenified’. I’ll talk to you later! Oh, and before I forget, Hadley has been looking for you, he said he wanted to ask you something!”

Jenny said “Thanks Kelly! Break a leg!” and left the dressing room in search of Hadley Fraser, _Wicked’s_ very own Fiyero. Jenny had the biggest crush on him and wondered what he wanted; he was always very sweet to her and they were constantly flirting. As Jenny walked around the theatre looking for Hadley, she could feel Mme. Giry’s eyes watching her making sure she didn’t do anything to disobey the Phantom.

Jenny didn’t find Hadley until it was almost places, so he told her he would talk to her later. Jenny felt right at home calling her queues again and was happy to be back. The show went great and there were no mistakes or late set pieces, which happened a lot more frequently than people would think. All in all it was a great show and everyone was happy she was back.  

Hadley ran up to Jenny, gave her a big hug and said “Welcome back! I missed you so much; it wasn’t the same without you popping into my dressing room every day for our little chats during intermission!”

Jenny blushed and said “Aw thanks! I missed you guys too! Kelly said you wanted to ask me something?”

Hadley said “Yes I did! I was wondering if you like to go out to dinner with me tonight if you don’t have any plans.”

Jenny was so excited, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Mme. Giry and Meg were standing in earshot of them. Jenny hesitated in answering him for that reason, but said “Yes I’d love to!”

Hadley looked really excited and said “Great, I’ll be right back. I’m just going to grab our things.”

As soon as Hadley left, Mme. Giry ran over to Jenny with a worried look on her face and said “Miss O’Hara I’d advise you not to go, he will be beyond upset if you do. Unspeakable things could happen to you or the ones you love!”

Jenny had the strong temptation to roll her eyes, but resisted the urge and said “Look I’ll be back here before 10 pm and if you want, you can wait here until I get back.”

Mme. Giry looked nervous as she said to Jenny “Fine, but not a minute later; He isn’t very understanding of these sorts of things.” By the time Mme. Giry finished speaking, Hadley had returned with his backpack and Jenny’s pocketbook. Mme. GIry and Meg were out of sight as Hadley and Jenny made their way to the door.

As soon as they stepped outside, Hadley offered Jenny his arm; Jenny took it and thought to herself “Aw that’s so sweet of him, he must know how clumsy I am.” They walked for a few minutes until Jenny broke the silence “Where are you taking me?” she asked with a flirty inquisitiveness.

Hadley looked at her and said “Well, a little birdie told me your favorite restaurant was Carmine’s, so I figured we’d go there!” His gaze lingered for a moment before he blushed and looked back down at the sidewalk.

Jenny was so excited; after all, Carmine’s was her favorite restaurant in the entire city. Their destination was about eight blocks from the Gershwin, which could end up being a fifteen minute walk because of the amount of tourists gawking at the towering skyscrapers overhead. As they walked, the pair made small talk and learned that they had a lot in common with each other; they both loved traveling and Jenny learned that Hadley was from London originally. All the times she had spoken to Hadley he always spoke with an American accent and from their short walk she discovered that he spoke like that so he could practice his accent for the show because his role requires him to speak in an American accent. He kept saying on how he needed to practice because his still hasn’t gotten it down yet, but Jenny thought otherwise and said “Well I think your American accent is perfect; c’mon then, I wanna hear your real accent.”

Hadley looked at her and said “Fine then, this is how I really sound.” The sonorous vowel sounds flowed out of his mouth and Jenny was hypnotized by his voice; there was something about an English accent that she couldn’t resist.

Jenny laughed and said “Oh my God! Just talk like that from now on; you are perfect just the way you are”

Hadley laughed too and said “We’re here!” The pair walked into the crowded restaurant packed with after Broadway show crowds. The Maître D’ greeted them and Hadley said “Wait here for a moment” as he disappeared into the basement along with the Maître D’. He reappeared about three minutes later and motioned for her to come down. He took her hand in his as they made their way down the stairs and before Jenny knew what was going on she saw an entire crowd of people jump out and say “SURPRISE! WELCOME BACK JENNY!” Everyone was there; the cast and crew of _Wicked_ , Kelly, and even Kevin, Allison, and Jeremy. Jenny was so surprised and touched that she got caught up in the moment, turned to Hadley and kissed him on the lips for everyone to see. Jenny barely knew him, but it was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her.

Hadley looked surprised but he looked happy and put his arm around her waist as they walked around and greeted people. They were enjoying the party; it was great friends and great food. Jenny never realized how many people cared about her until tonight. Everyone told her how much they missed her and how they couldn’t get anything done without her. They were just about to go over to talk to Kelly when Hadley pulled Jenny into a corner and he said “I don’t really know how to say this, but I’ve liked you for a long time now and I would love to continue seeing you.”

Hadley leaned in slow to kiss her, and just as their lips were about to meet, the lights went out and a loud booming voice was in their presence. Jenny couldn’t make out what the voice was saying, but before she knew it someone grabbed her from behind and shoved a cloth over her mouth once more. She was about to fight off her attacker, but was unconscious before she could react.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed the first chapter, it gets better I promise! I wrote this first chapter a while ago when I was just starting out writing so it's a little rough


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